


Trials of The Signless

by BoneDaddy



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Casteism | Hemophobia (Homestuck), Headcanon of Canon Events, Headcanons of troll society, Minor Character(s), Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Castism, Period-Typical Racism, period-typical violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2019-11-26 20:36:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18185435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoneDaddy/pseuds/BoneDaddy
Summary: Darkness had fell upon Alternia. It was a time when cities would bustle with trolls, thankful for the sunset. Though this is not where our story takes us. The cities would be too dangerous, for one of the four in the group we are about to follow. This is the story of The Signless.This work will follow The Signless through key moments of his life, leading up to his death. It is not beta'd so feed back is very much appreciated.





	1. Four months

It was hatching day in the caverns, every Jade blood knew that it was the happiest time, a new generation to populate the planet. A young Jade blood is sent out after the first set of eggs hatch, she was to collect items to help with the brooding process. She trekked out into the night, basket in hand as she moved. Not to far away, soft cries could be heard. The sound was unmistakable to her, it was a grub. Poor thing must have wandered off in the chaos of the first hatching.

Porrim moved to where the sound originated and gasped upon the sight before her, the basket fell upon the grass. All alone, exposed to the elements, was a red bodied little grubling. He couldn’t have been more than a few hours old. She tore off a bit of fabric from the bottom of her dress. She knelt down and picked him up, swaddling him in the fabric. In all her sweeps of living in the caverns, she had never seen such a color from a grub. She had heard that mutations were possible, but they were rare. She knew he was special, she also knew that any sort of mutation was grounds for instant culling. In a flash of blue light a strange looking creature appeared before them. Her attention turned to it and she hissed defensively, pulling the little grub close to her. Another flash of blue light and it was gone. She realized how out in the open and exposed they were, she had to find refuge, and quickly. She looked around and picked up the basket, placing the grub inside and quickly moved for the safety of the forest. She didn’t know what compelled her to leave her duties in the cavern, all she knew was that this little grub needed her.

The days had turned into weeks, without the safety of the caverns, she didn’t know if he would survive. There were a few times where she was sure she had made a mistake, where she thought he would certainly die from exposure. Miraculously, he survived, she certainly didn’t expect it, he was so much smaller than the grubs who had been hatched before him. She would travel through the forests between cities, it was far safer than travelling the roads where any highblood could see her and question her reasons for not being in the caverns during such a time.

The weeks had turned into months and he successfully went through his first pupation, shedding his grub form to now resemble a small troll. This would have been the time that he would prepare for his trials in the caverns. Instead of honing his fighting skills, she worked with him on speaking and walking. Her face brightened (quite literally) when he took his first steps, scooping him up and kissing his cheek. 

She found that travelling to the cities was more difficult. Adult trolls didn’t raise young past half a sweep, it just wasn’t done. She would have to leave him behind while she traveled to the nearby city. Thankfully, the child slept quite a bit. She laid him down on a pile of soft fabric scraps she had collected over the months, kissing his forehead before leaving the safety of the cavern. She covered the entrance with vines and brush then started off to the city with a small bag of garments she had made. She would sell them at the bazaar, or trade them for other items. She pulled up her hood upon entering the bustling city. It was populated by lowbloods, save for the occasional blue blood enforcer and clown. Once she had sold all her items, she browsed the various stalls, collecting ingredients she might need for food and medicines. She picked up more fabric and thread, her eyes darting to a bolt of grey fleece. Once she had her purchases, she weaved her way through the streets.

“You! Motherfuckin jade blooded bitch! Come here!” A gruff voice called out to her.  _ Oh no. _ She turned to see a rather large Subjugglator quickly walking his way towards her. “The fuck are you doin so far away from the fuckin caverns?” She held her ground and opened her bag to reveal her items.

“The Grand Jade sent me to gather necessary times for the Grub Trials. I was just on my way back, sir.” Her eyes averted for a moment before the bag was ripped from her and the contents were haphazardly dumped on the ground. She had nothing that would suggest otherwise, but she was still terrified. The Clowns were known for being particularly dangerous and she had never personally encountered one, save for the grubs that were hatched. A low, dissatisfied growl left the large troll and he threw the bag on the ground. Interfering with Cavern business was highly frowned upon, it was her only saving grace.

“Tch… Pick that shit up! Get out of my motherfuckin sight.” He glared and pushed her down roughly before sauntering away. She let out a breath of relief and began gathering the items back into the bag. A young burgundy blood who had witnessed the exchange moved over to her when the clown was out of sight and helped her with a smile. Porrim patted her head and offered her one of the apples she had purchased in return for helping her. Once her items were all gathered, she made her way back to the cavern as quickly as she could. She had already spend more time away than she had intended. Once the brush and vines were moved away, she rushed inside, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the little troll sound asleep where she had left him.

“Thank the Gods.” She whispered and set her bag down. She gently picked up the little one and held him close as she sat down, his only response was a soft yawn and little arms wrapping around her. She picked through her bag, finding the grey fabric and set to work while the child slept.


	2. Two Sweeps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our little Signless wanders a bit to far away from Rosa during a trip and gets a taste of the harsh reality of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been recovering from this really horrible disease called writers block, so If this chapter isn't exactly the best, I apologize.

The city was a large place for a troll of two sweeps old, even for one as small as this. Every troll towered over him, but no one paid him any mind. He clung to his mother as they walked through the town. His doey eyes watched all around him, his mother told him that this city wouldn’t be as grand as some of the others that they would see on their travels, but he thought it was grand all the same. Stalls were lined with all sorts of strange and new items, from trinkets, to furs of pure white, and some colors he hadn’t seen before. The pair had stopped at one of the stalls and the taller troll began bartering with the stall owner. The young one began to grow restless and he wandered off to one of the other stalls.

It wasn’t uncommon to see a young troll on their own. It was their responsibility to get the items their lusus could not. Lusii were for protection and survival, that was it. So no one bats an eye when little Kankri walked up to their stall and looked over the items. One kind brown blood even gave him a sweet and patted his head. He wandered through the town until reaching the outskirts before realizing he was hopelessly lost. His mother was no where around. He was used to being on his own, there were places she would go that he just couldn’t follow. This was different, however, and a ball of fear settled in the pit of his stomach.

He looked around frantically, spotting another troll who he thought resembled his mother. He started towards them before seeing two hulking trolls with them, holding either side of his arm and being none too gentle. One was a bit shorter than his companion, but they still hulked over the troll they were man handling. He ducked down instinctively and watched on with wide eyes. The two larger trolls pulled the smaller along and pushed him ahead.

“Get movin’, motherfuckin’ dirtblood. Grand High won’t be made to motherfuckin’ wait on your account.” One of them bellowed, more sickening fear rushed up in the little troll and he stumbled back into a bush, scraping his cheek on the branches and his elbow on a rock. He covered his mouth to stop the pained cry from escaping him, tears of pain and fear streamed down his chubby cheeks. One of the highblood’s attention snapped back. 

“The motherfuck was that?” He growled out, his companion motioned to the area with his club.

Sudden, familiar hands were wrapped around the child and he was scooped up by his mother who whisked him away as quickly as she could. He saw the bush he’d fallen into get absolutely demolished by the taller as the other large troll struck the prisoner with his club. He clung to his mother tightly.

“I’m sorry momma.. I’m sorry…” he sobbed into her gently. A gentle hand came up and patted his head, shushing him softly as she brought him back to the safety of their cavern. With expert care and gentleness, she tended to the few little cuts on him then threw the used cotton balls and bandages in the fire to eliminate the evidence of his mutant blood.

“Do not wander from me again, you scared me half to death!” She said before she kissed his forehead and pulled him into her lap. He cuddled into her and cried.

“I… is that man… gonna be okay?” he sobbed out softly. She let out a soft sigh, her glowing eyes turned down for a moment. She couldn’t protect him from the truth of their world forever.

“No, little one, he isn’t.” She began, wiping the tears from his cheeks with her thumb. “You see, Kankri, there is… a hemocaste in place, wherein the color of your blood measures how important you are. The cooler the color, the more important you are seen as. At the top, is our Empress with fuschia blood, and at the bottom, the burgundy trolls.” She explained. He listened with wide eyes, full of confusion.

“Well that’s dumb.” He said bluntly. His mother gave him a look of surprise, raising a brow at him. “You shouldn’t be told what you are cause of something out of your control! It’s not fair!” He huffed and crosses his little arms over his chest, cheeks puffing out in a huff. A few moments of his pouting passed before he realized something, where did that fit him in this world? “What about me?” He asked curiously.

Dolorosa bit her lip, sighing softly. “You are my little boy, and there is nothing in this world that will hurt you, so long as you don’t wander away from me again.” She smiled and held him close. It didn’t really answer his question, but he relented and snuggled in close to her. After a few moments, he fell into a light sleep against her, his little head swirled with a wheel of colors while she sang to him.


End file.
